THEIR schedule is one of the most demanding in the world of entertainment, with two shows a night of high-kicks, extravagant costumes and nudity.

And when the women on the front line of the Moulin Rouge in Paris kick off their can-can boots, they dream of comforts rarely found on the streets of Pigalle - Tunnock’s tea cakes and Irn Bru.

A Scottish flavour has been at the heart of the world’s most famous dance show as it celebrated its 130th Anniversary this year, with three dancers from Scotland among the ensemble for the first time.

Now the gruelling schedule of three performers, from Glasgow, Perthshire and West Lothian are the focus of a new BBC Scotland documentary about the world’s most famous dance show.

Moulin Rouge Ecosse follows the lives of Principal dancer Sarah Tandy, from Whitburn West Lothian, Lucy Monaghan from Glasgow and Michaela Rondelli from Almondbank.

The programme shines a light on the remarkable commitment required to deliver two physically demanding shows a night on the infamous cabaret with only one day off each week.

And it also reveals how the women don’t consider the show’s topless nudity and skimpy outfits to be regressive, even in the post #metoo era.

Solus Productions’ Tony Kearney, director of the documentary to be shown on BBC Alba on Hogmanay, said: “The world has changed and you do think why is there still a desire for this kind of show? It’s actually very tasteful which maybe wasn’t what my impression of it had been before I went. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The girls don’t have to do that, it’s their decision to join the nude line. But it’s always over-subscribed.

“The can-can is physical, it’s brutal on the body and they don’t get home until 2am every night. These dancers work incredibly hard. But even during the day when they have time off they go to dance classes and fitness classes because they need to keep their body in shape. But they adore it.”

The hour-long programme goes behind the scenes to meet the formidable characters who run the Moulin Rogue, which was famously the inspiration for the hit 2001 musical film starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman.

It also captures the incredible spectacle of the dancers performing the can-can outside the legendary venue in October this year - 130 years to the day since it opened in 1889 on the city's Montmatre in the 18th arrondissement.

Michaela Rondelli, 26, from Almondbank in Perthshire, was auditioned privately for her role in the revue show and feels the nudity is on the women’s terms.

The champion Highland dancer said: “It’s not vulgar in any way. It’s actually really empowering to be on stage as a woman and to have the choice to do that. It’s great to have the confidence to do that. I know some people wouldn’t, but we’re all strong confident women at work and we all really enjoy it.

“But any time someone goes home they ask what we want brought back from Scotland. It’s always Tunnocks tea cakes and Irn Bru. We might live and work in Paris, but we’ll always be Scots girls at heart.”

Sarah Tandy, 37, from Whitburn has been dancing at the Moulin for 13 years and is married to fellow Moulin Rouge dancer, Australian David Tandy, with whom she has an infant son Elliott.

The principal dancer said: “Joining the Moulin has given me everything – a well-paid job, a husband and a family. I started my career at Moulin and that’s where I hope to retire.”

Returning to the stage after having a child was a challenge for a new mother.

“It was a shock to the system,” she added. “I’d been off for a full year and went back to work when he was six months old. I had a fear of putting on those costumes again, getting out in front of thousands of people, not being sure that I’d be able to do it like I had done before.”

The programme, presented by Cathy Macdonald, also features trained ballet dancer Lucy Monaghan, from Glasgow a former pupil of the prestigious Dance School of Scotland at

Knightswood Academy in Glasgow and London’s Central School of Ballet.

The 28 year old said: “I started dancing when I was five years old and loved it. I decided when I was ten that I wanted to do this as a career. You can’t beat having the opportunity to perform every single night. The theatre holds 1000 people and there’s never a spare seat. The atmosphere is electric and being part of something so huge, so famous and historic is a real honour.”